David Clark, Professor and Indigenous rights, Australia

Meet David. A professor of Psychology and advocate for aboriginal rights here in Australia. Having taken a early retirement to focus on his own passions David is someone we can learn from. Following what you believe in and stand for is something that jumps to my mind when I think about David. It is so important to follow your passions and dreams as you would never be able to compete with someone who loves what they do if you just do it without passion. If you love what you do, you are better than any academic or person who doesn't perform using their heart in the profession. I mean really how do you compete with someone who loves to read about financial trends in his free time when you actually hate being in the finance sector? Its logic. 

Ken Graydon, healing practitioner, Australia

Meet Ken. Having helped hundreds of people through his healing practices Ken is someone you can truly learn from. He has also published a book and does healing classes and sessions, with patients ranging from all kinds of issues including inoperable brain-tumor or disabilities, anxieties, self-healing and more. Having lived longer that most of my readers Ken is filled with life experiences and wisdom. I always respect someone who is older than me as I find we can learn from everybody, especially our elders. The knowledge that is being accumulated over the years should always be passed down and not gone to waste with nowadays our elderly being alone in aged care facilities and their knowledge dwindling away. Like Ken says, never make the same mistake twice. This is a wisdom I live by and we all should. It is normal to make mistakes, we all do. But we should learn from them and improve ourselves. You are not a fool to make mistakes, you are a fool if you don't learn from them and keep on repeating them.

Andre Maure, Teacher, Indonesia

I had come to meet Andre at a wedding couple of years ago and we are friends since. He teaches English as well as Indonesian. His passion is to teach and he does a great job at doing so which had taken him to Australia and around Indonesia with hopefully more destinations in the pipeline. I think in all the years that I know Andre he had never shown any negativity. He is always happy and positively minded, which is kind of contagious and therefore it is always great to be around him. As I am myself planning to go to Bali to study Indonesian and start an online business as luck might find it I might even get taught by my friend.

Kelvin Wong, Fashionista and Sales assistant, Australia.

• I had come to meet Kelvin a few years ago when by chance I met his brother who introduced me to Kelvin after a night out and a sleepover. Kelvin is always cheered up and a good person to keep around as he will bring a smile to your face, usually. Overcoming judgement and bullying due to his homosexuality he is now a strong character who has overcome the judgements and is now on the way to proof to the world his capabilities.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

Alex, Student, Australia

Alex is my good friend in Perth, Australia. I met Alex when I attended an english school for immigrants and refugees. We were in the same class at that time and our friendship dates back to 2009, the year I started being at the Intensive English Centre (IEC). Alex had always came across as a wise person. When there was a problem he always had some sort of advise. If you know Alex then you know that on the outside he is hard like a rock but on the inside he has a warm heart and is very kind. A man who had experienced a lot and endured much. Turning his life around coming to Australia from a war torn country, experiencing hardship and suffering and now he is  holding Australian citizenship, is happily married and studies at university. I truly respect this man! 

Hayma, Red Karen, Thailand

On my trip to the north of Thailand I came across a village of the native Kayan tribe (a subgroup of the Red Karen from Burma). One of the Kayan tribes traditionally at a young age start to use bronze rings to weigh their shoulders down in order for the perception of a long neck/throat. It was very interesting to see their lifestyle and hear some of the stories. There are a lot of subgroups in the Kaya with different backgrounds and clothing, not all have the long necks, but certainly those ladies stand out the most and are therefore most known. Given that this village was given as a refuge place to the Kayan tribes people I have to admit that it had a touristy feeling to it. The economy of the locals was based upon tourists purchasing products and coming through. However where else would you get in contact with some of these very interesting people? I know that these photos I will look upon and remember the Kayan tribe.

Puii, buddhist monk, Thailand

Whilst traveling around Thailand and being fascinated by the deep religious roots their culture holds I went to a lot of local temples. Trust me, there are A LOT! Each one has its own sacredness and beauty. Whilst on my travels I felt a deeper spiritual connection then at other times and so enjoyed the sacred temples a lot. On one of the occasions I befriended myself with a local Buddhist monk. We got talking because he saw that I already had a lot of temple bracelets and asked where I was headed in my travels and as a coincidence as it might should have been my next stop was his home town up north in Chiang Mai. I met him in the south of Thailand, near Phuket.

Wirat, Bangkok, Thailand

The next interesting personality I have met is Wirat. I met him watching his snake handling show in the Bangkok snake farm run by the thai red cross. He seems to have no fear of snakes and casually handles some of the worlds most venomous snakes including the king cobra. After the show I got the chance to talk to him...

Wayan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

This is Wayan. I met him when exploring the dirt roads that lead into nowhere in Ubud, Bali. Whilst driving on the smallest possible way between rice terrace and a unforeseeable drop into the nothing I reached a dead end. I was super thirsty when I spotted or should I saw when I was spotted by Wayan. He kindly introduced himself and offered me a coconut. Which to my surprise he climbed up the tree  and shared with me. See the photos below.

Cam, Sapa, Vietnam

This woman I met whilst traveling in Vietnam. I was trekking in Sapa which is in the north of Vietnam near the Chinese boarder. This mountain region is absolutely picture book worthy. You have rice terraces everywhere and in spring the flowers come out and give you a picture book scenery. The air is fresh and the streets are quiet. A pleasant change from busy Ho Chi Min (Saigon) and Hanoi. The traditional people in Sapa are called black hmong. They are famous for creating dresses out of hemp and dying it indigo blue hence their hands area always coloured. This particular lady offered to walk with me and protect me from the rain whilst trying to sell me one of her hand made purses. She walked alongside me with her baby on her back. After a while we crossed through her village which was down the mountain slope. That means she walks up every morning on the look out for some tourists. Tough lady. It was a absolute pleasure meeting her. A truly kind hearted and strong woman.